Burnt
by fierysnow
Summary: Lily Evans and James Potter would have grown up to be 'just friends' , if she hadn't done something to drive him away. Things change when they have to work together. PLEASE REVIEW!
1. Chapter 1

Burnt- Chapter 1

Lily sighed happily as she finally boarded the Hogwarts Express. It had been a long summer and she wasn't sure she could have taken another week living at home. She loved her family, but she didn't belong to that world, and being away from her own made her nervous. She would be in her own world soon, and the thought of being back at Hogwarts by nightfall had lifted her spirits considerably.

Students ran around her, waving to each other and sharing their holiday experiences excitedly. She smiled at that, looking around for her own two best friends. _None of whom burnt somebody else's hair._ It made her slightly uncomfortable, as she remembered.

_"Hey Evans, think you can set this on fire?" twelve year old James taunted her, pointing his wand at her cushion in Charms class. It made her angry. She had never been as smart as him, but she hated the condescending tone he always employed when her magical talent was being discussed. But James was almost her friend, since he was great friends with all her friends, and she admired him. So she shrugged._

_"I guess I could try." She had done this before, alone in her dormitory, and she had also read the theory required for the spell. So she muttered the words and waved her wand._

_Only sparks flew out._

_The students around them laughed cruelly as she tried to cover her embarrassment by trying again. But sparks were all she could produce._

_"I knew you couldn't," James smirked and turned away. Even many years later, Lily would still say that it was the smirk that did it. She needed an outlet, something to let out all the frustration he produced in her, something that would hurt him the way his words cut through her._

_"I can," Lily grit her teeth and waved her wand, stepping back in satisfaction. It was magic she had never performed before, but James yelled as his hair suddenly caught fire; not the fire she had tried to produce earlier, but one that would not hurt him, only turn his head into a fiery source of light. Lily laughed, expecting others to join in. The sight of James head on fire was surely funny…_

_How wrong she had been._

Lily smiled to herself at the memory. She was sure even Marlene and Mary, her best friends at school, hadn't forgiven her for that. _Well, _said a voice in her mind, _you did attack the school's pride and joy._ James had never forgiven her for that. She had apologized to him thrice after that, hoping things would get back to the way they had been. Every time he had ignored her. The third time, his behavior hurt too much for her to try again. She had simply decided to get used to being ignored every time Marlene and Mary hung out with him. She didn't like it, but it didn't bother her too much.

She got out of her reverie as she spotted Mary in one of the compartments.

"Hey Lily!" she grinned. "Good summer?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Oh right, you have no idea how it went, I only wrote to you about fifty times!"

"And here we have Lily Evans, sarcastic bitch extraordinaire," Marlene entered dramatically. All three of them laughed. Lily hugged Marlene and settled herself into a comfortable corner, taking Mary's cat into her lap. She giggled as the tabby cat purred.

"So you are Head Girl right?" Marlene asked.

"Yes," Lily said, smiling. Her hands had trembled as she had opened the letter. Even now, she couldn't believe she had been chosen. It had been the proudest moment of her life.

"I was talking to Remus earlier, he said-," Mary started, but Lily interrupted her.

"It's great he's Head Boy, isn't it?" She really had hoped it would be him.

"Uh…"

"I hope he can finally get those annoying friends of his in line, they are in the seventh year, for Merlin's sake!"

"Lily, stop!" Mary looked anxious now. Lily frowned.

"What?"

"Remus told me that _James _is the Head Boy."

"That's great, he'll probably do a good job," Marlene said distractedly. Lily's owl was trying to nip at her fingers. Lily felt numb.

"_James? _James _Potter?_"

"That very one." Mary grinned.

"Dumbledore's finally lost his mind," Lily declared.

"_Professor _Dumbledore, Lily," Marlene said in a mock stern voice.

Lily covered her face in frustration. "You know I can't work with him! He hates me! What was Dumbledore thinking? _Everyone _knows he hates me." The thought of working with him for an entire year while he tried his best to ignore the fact that she existed left her almost in tears.

"Aww c'mon Lily, James will do great as Head Boy," Marlene said soothingly. "You know everyone looks up to him." Lily snorted. Both Mary and Marlene looked at her silently.

"What?" she said defensively. "He's the worst possible choice for Head Boy and you know it! I mean, he's a bloody Marauder!"

Mary chuckled. "Only you think that's bad, Lily. Everybody else loves them." Lily smiled slightly at that. Over the years, she had learnt to accept her little quirks. One of them was this. Lily Evans didn't just follow rules, she _loved _them. She attended all her classes, finished all her homework on time, had never been out of bed after curfew and she had never, ever wandered out into the Forbidden Forest unless it was for a Care of Magical Creatures class.

A knock on the door of their compartment interrupted their conversation and made her jump. She looked up and smiled as Sirius Black entered. Marlene grinned back at Lily and quickly pulled him into a kiss. Lily and Mary gaped at them, dumbstruck.

"Lily, Mary," Marlene smiled sweetly, "Meet my boyfriend, Sirius."

Mary was speechless. Lily glanced at her before clearing her throat. "Hey, Sirius. Nice meeting you."

That cut the ice as all of them started laughing. "I wanted to tell you," Marlene said breathlessly, "But I thought it would be more fun this way."

"Sure, Mars, but warn us next time before shoving your tongue down a guy's throat," Mary muttered.

"Nice meeting you too, Mary." Sirius grinned. "And you, Evans." Lily smiled back.

"When did it happen?" Lily asked.

"Over the summer," Marlene shrugged. "We met at Diagon Alley, got talking, and well…" She giggled. Lily and Mary gaped again. Marlene rarely giggled. And never in front of a guy. Lily smiled as Sirius rolled his eyes. And then it quickly faded.

"Hey Mars, Mary," James Potter entered. Lily lowered her eyes, and turned away, scratching the cat's ears. James' pointed way of snubbing her always hurt her slightly, and made her feel guilty, even though she really hadn't done anything wrong, and had even apologized. It had been a harmless prank! She couldn't understand how someone could hold a grudge against her for something that stupid for years. But it _was _James standing there, the person she would be working with for the rest of the year, and she didn't want things to be uncomfortable between them. So she sucked up her pride and braced herself.

"Hey James," she mumbled. The compartment fell uncomfortably silent. James nodded at her expressionlessly.

"Hi."

"Had a good summer?" _Small talk helps, right?_

"It was fine," he replied shortly. _Clearly not._

"Mine was all right too," Lily stupidly continued, out of pure habit.

"That's uh, good to know."

Lily really wanted to die then. What was _wrong _with her? She sighed. Fortunately, Remus Lupin entered at that moment, saving her from her own embarrassment.

"Hey Lily," he smiled at her warmly, eyeing the badge she had carefully pinned to her school robes. "Congratulations."

It was at times like these that she really loved him. "Thanks, Remus." He glanced at James, and winked back at her, making her roll her eyes. She stared out of the window as the others talked for some time.

"We should leave for the prefects' meeting," Lily said finally, putting Mary's cat aside and getting up.

"Where's Peter?" Mary asked.

James and Sirius looked at Remus, who shrugged. "I really have no idea. He said he wanted to go meet some friends in another compartment."

"So there's your answer," Lily said impatiently. She was both excited and nervous about conducting a prefects' meeting. Mary and Marlene laughed.

"Go, for Merlin's sake," Mary grinned.

She smiled absentmindedly and started for the door. Holding it open, she glanced up at James, who shook his head.

"After you," he said. Lily was surprised at his chivalry, and stepped out, when she heard him mutter to Remus, "So she can't attack my back _again._" It made her both sad and annoyed. How could he still be so sore about that?

He was clearly determined to make this a long year.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Lily Evans was not a classically beautiful girl, but she did manage to look extremely pretty. She had long layered red hair that framed her pale freckled face, and bright green eyes eyes that brimmed with emotion, even if she kept her face perfectly blank. She stood at 5' 4'', which might have satisfied her, if she hadn't grown up in a dormitory with Marlene. Mary was pretty, like her, with brown hair and eyes, but Marlene was the Goddess of Beauty come to life. She was tall with flawless skin, violet eyes, soft golden hair and a slender body, with curves in all the right places. She was the sort of woman who made heads turn as soon as the sound of her footsteps reached a room.

It had often frustrated Lily that a lot of people had considered her silly in her younger years at Hogwarts. She had never been stupid, just painfully shy and quiet. She had even had good scores in the end of year exams. What pained her was that she had almost idolised James for his magical abilities, and yet he had mocked her. That was when she realised things had to change, and she started spending a lot more of her time studying. She had natural aptitude, which, coupled with her hard work, finally got her Os in all her subjects in the O.W.L.s. And at last, she began to see James for the twerp he was. A lot of things changed with this realisation.

Now that she was Head Girl, she felt a kind of quiet satisfaction when she looked back. The only thing that soured her happiness slightly was that she would have to work with James. And they would have a dormitory together.

"A dormitory?" Marlene practically squealed when she heard. Beside her, Mary was talking to Remus, and around them students were enjoying the start of year feast. "That is so awesome, Lily!"

Lily shrugged, a smile playing on her lips. "Just some perks of the job."

"So… could I borrow it some time?"

"So that you can snog Sirius Black and do Merlin knows what else on my bed?" Lily snorted. "No."

"Aww come on, Lily!"

"Miss Evans!" a stern voice called her. She looked back to see Professor McGonagall, her hair pulled back into her trademark tight bun. James was already standing beside her. She looked at Mary and Marlene.

"She has to show us to our dormitory," she explained. "So see you tomorrow then."

"Have fun," Mary grinned. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Lily wait!" Remus called. She paused as he walked up to her.

"Miss Evans! Please hurry up!"

"Just a minute, Professor!" Lily said hurriedly. "What!" she hissed, when Remus came to her.

"Try and get along with him, okay?" he said gently. "I know he makes it hard ("Oh no, it's all my fault", Lily muttered) but he's not a bad guy. He's just…"

"Proud? Arrogant? The biggest asshole I know?" Lily interjected.

"He is the best friend a guy can have."

"I am a girl," Lily said shortly. "And I don't see why you have to talk to _me._ I am not the one being stupid here."

"Miss Evans!"

"Crap," Lily muttered. "I have to go, see you tomorrow."

"Oh I'll see you again tonight," Remus said, grinning. "Sirius,Peter and I have to see the dorm! Just promise me you'll try?"

"No," she replied back harshly and walked away.

"As Head Students, I expect you to behave responsibly," McGongall told them as they followed her out of the Great Hall. "It's rare for two Heads to be from the same House, and I am proud that they are both from Gryffindor this year. But you are expected to treat all Houses in the school equally. I do not want any favouritism from either of you." She looked at them sternly from behind her gold-rimmed spectacles. Lily nodded.

"Head students have a separate dormitory to themselves so that they can have the peace and quiet required to carry out their duties in their own space. You will be extremely busy this year, so make full use of the dorm common room to study whenever you can. At the same time, I don't want you misusing this space in any way." Lily noticed she seemed to be looking at James as she said this, and there was an 'almost' twinkle in her eye. Even the teachers adored James Potter. "You will have many duties throughout the year, including planning Hogsmeade visits, the Christmas Ball and scheduling prefect patrol timings. There is a list in your dormitory. There are a lot of other issues we have to discuss, but we can wait for those until we reach your dormitory." Lily noticed that she seemed worried. There were tired lines beneath her eyes, and she immediately felt sorry for her. It must be hard for her to be so strong and stern all the time.

"What about curfew?" James asked with a grin. "Are we still required to follow that?"

"No," McGonagall replied, pursing her lips. "But I expect you to act responsibly now that you have been granted this privilege-"

"And Hogsmeade?" James asked, visibly excited now. "Can I go there anytime I like?"

"Provided you can give a valid reason for your presence there," McGonagall said hesitantly.

"And can I take someone along?"

"James Potter, if I find you misusing your privileges in any way, I promise you I will-"

"I am just asking," James muttered. "_Honestly._"

They had reached a portrait of the Four Founders by now. Lily noticed that Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin seemed to be sitting as far apart from each other as the painting allowed.

"_Tranquil moonshine_," McGonagall said aloud. The painting opened to reveal a well lit common room decorated in neutral colours. There were tall windows all around the room giving a spectacular view of the lake. The common room was smaller than the one in Gryffindor Tower, but seemed more luxurious somehow. There was a large fire roaring in the fireplace, and armchairs and sofas were placed around it.

"They call it one of the safest places in the castle," Lily said absentmindedly. "Because the Founders themselves guard it."

"Yes," McGonagall said, glancing at her. "Which is why I chose to wait till we came here before discussing another issue. Seat yourselves comfortably." Lily settled down on the nearest sofa, while James collapsed on an armchair. Professor McGonagall remained standing.

"Mr. Potter, your parents are aurors," she started. "You know what is happening in our world."

James nodded. Lily frowned, confused.

"We have a rising dark wizard, Lord Voldemort (Lily noticed James shifted uncomfortably) in our midst. He is a wizard of terrible power, and harbours a strong hatred for muggleborns. You might have heard rumours of his existence in the newspaper. Hogwarts is safe from his supporters outside, while Professor Dumbledore is here. But we have students here… children of his supporters, or those who believe his ideas to be right, and that is where our danger lies. Our students have to kept safe. I want you to assign prefect patrols in the castle till two hours after curfew, after which a teacher will do that duty. Make sure no prefect is alone during patrols, for their own safety. And as much as it pains me to say this… keep the Slytherin prefects together and don't put them with prefects from other Houses while assigning patrols. I know it seems cowardly to keep them away like that, and also dangerous, but it is important that no more students, including prefects, come to harm. We had incidents the last year… On their patrol night, I want both of you to take up additional patrols and keep an eye on them. It might be wrong to point fingers at a House with no proof, but sometimes the obvious cannot be proven."

Lily bowed her head and nodded. Of course she knew about Lord Voldemort. It seemed like a secret everybody talked about. Some were even beginning to avoid speaking his name aloud.

"There is no reason to panic about him," James spoke up. "I am sure the Aurors will catch him. Such measures will surely only spread fear among students…"

"There is fear already," Lily said, frowning at him. "Everybody seems to distrust each other. Students' family members are disappearing as his power is rising, and more students support him every day. Such measures are only wise."

James pretended he hadn't heard her.

"Safety measures are never a waste," Professor McGonagall rose. "I would suggest both of you retire to your beds now." She walked out of the dormitory, leaving an uncomfortable silence behind.

"So, uh, your parents are working on this case?" Lily asked conversationally. James looked at her contemptuously, making her flinch.

"They are Aurors," he snapped. "They are doing their job."

Lily wanted to back off, because staying around made her feel like she was being a huge nuisance. But she reminded herself that she had done nothing wrong, and instead reached for the parchment that had their list of duties on it.

"Hogsmeade visits…" she murmured, "Quidditch matches… Patrols… Self defense clubs… huh? Ok… Christmas Ball… not much here. I thought the list would be longer."

"Could you not read it aloud?"

"You can always leave the room," Lily replied as coldly as she could. And then she remembered what Remus had said, and sighed. "Look, we are going to have to work together a lot this year. Couldn't you at least _pretend _that you get along with me?"

"Sure," he shrugged carelessly.

"Why do you hate me?" Lily tried to appear as if it did not matter too much.

He snorted. "You are uptight, and a teacher's pet."

That stung. "I am sure I am not…" she started hesitantly.

"And you can't take a joke. You try so hard to not have a life, it makes everyone around you sick."

"That can't be it," Lily replied calmly. "I wouldn't have any friends at all in that case. You are the only one who seems to have a problem with me."

"Perhaps I am the only one who says it out loud." With that he left the room to go upstairs to sleep. Lily swallowed a lump in her throat and started her way upstairs to her room.

The room given to her was large and elegantly furnished. A kind of warmth spread inside her as she looked around happily. Her bed was exactly as soft as she liked it, and several pillows were piled on it. The room also had a desk and a chair, with empty bookshelves against the wall. She found her trunk in a corner, with her owl in her cage. Beatrice hooted when she saw her. She also had her own bathroom, which Lily thought was even better than the Prefects' bathroom. But what made her really happy was the large open balcony that gave her a beautiful view of the lake and the Hogwarts grounds. She smiled as cold wind blew into her face, and fell asleep soon after, too tired to unpack.


End file.
